One of the developers of a North Baton Rouge grocery store said the project will move forward, a day after Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed $18 million in state funding for the retail center.
Richard Preis said he was surprised by the veto of the capital outlay funding for the BLVD at Harding. The governor's office reached out to him about a partnership with the state, and Landry participated in the groundbreaking for the shopping center, which took place on Martin Luther King Day.ย
โWe have no idea what went on,โ Preis said. โThe thing flew through committee, it flew through the House, it flew through the Senate, and you know we wouldn't even know who to call to find out.โ
Landry's office has not responded to a request for comment.
Preis said he is not sure if the veto will delay the project, which was originally planned to open in the fall of 2027. But he intends to move forward using the original structure, with funding coming from the private sector instead of the state.ย
โThe state bid on us to come in, so we had to restructure for them, so now weโre going back to the original parties,โ Preis said. โI feel good about things. I mean, we already have some approvals on it.โ
Trevor Bailey, a developer and Preis' son-in-law, said earlier this month thatย the development group was in โadvanced talksโ with two national banks interested in working with it for additional funding. The group will also use tax increment financing to fund the project.
The $50 million BLVD at Harding willย take root in Howell Place, a 200-acre project Preis developed years ago.
The 100,000-square-foot development will be anchored by a 42,000-square-foot Harvest Fresh grocery store. Harvest Fresh is a partnership with Baton Rouge-based Associated Grocers.
Harvest Fresh was aimed at addressing the longstanding issue of grocery stores being in short supply in North Baton Rouge.ย
Two Shopperโs Value grocery stores are located south of Airline Highway, but no full-service grocery stores are north of the route where Harvest Fresh will be located. The store will serve the immediate Scotlandville area, giving residents and Southern University students, faculty and staff access to food and essential services, with an impact reaching to the Felicianas.
Other tenants are being eyed for the center, including fast-casual restaurants, fitness centers and medical services. Later stagesย of development could potentially includeย 14 acres for housing and a movie theater.
Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, who led the push to get capital outlay funding for the BLVD at Harding, said she was surprised by the veto.ย
โI donโt know whyโ the veto came, Barrow said.
This story was reported and written by a student with the support of the nonprofit ถถา๕h Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations.